Democratic gubernatorial candidates to square off at Stonehill

Martha Coakley, Steve Grossman and Donald Berwick will take part in a candidates forum on Tuesday at Stonehill College exactly one month before the candidates square off in the Democratic primary.

EASTON – Workers at Stonehill College were putting on the finishing touches in the Shields Science Center on Monday as they prepared for the gubernatorial forum that the college’s Joseph Martin Institute for Law and Society will host from 7 to 8 p.m., on Tuesday night.

The forum will be a three-way battle between the state’s Democratic candidates for governor as they try to win over undecided voters heading into the last month before the Sept. 9 primaries.

Attorney General Martha Coakley, Treasurer Steve Grossman and Donald Berwick, the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, are all seeking to the secure the Democratic spot on November’s ballot.

The Democratic primary winner will face the victor of the Republican primary, which pits candidates Charlie Baker and Mark Fisher against each other, and several independent candidates.

GateHouse Media, the parent company of MassPoliticalNews.com, is co-sponsoring the forum with Boston’s WCVB-TV, Channel 5.

“It’s been an unusually quiet campaign so far, and insiders say voters have yet to get engaged,” said Rick Holmes, Massachusetts political editor for GateHouse Media. “But the primary is coming up fast, so campaigns are hoping debates and forums like these will help get the ball rolling.”

Candidates for statewide offices, including the three Democratic candidates for governor, have recently begun launching their first television ads in anticipation of the upcoming primaries.

Steve Kornacki, the host of MSNBC’s “Up with Steve Kornacki” and a native of Groton, Massachusetts, will serve as the moderator for the forum and oversee the three-person panel conducting the forum.

The panelists are Holmes, Chris Burrell, of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, and Janet Wu, of WCVB-TV.

Although the gubernatorial forum has already sold out, the event will be streamed live at www.stonehill.edu/forum and on MassPoliticalNews.com.

In the future, Stonehill will continue to partner with GateHouse Media and WCVB-TV, Channel 5 to put on debates for several of the other candidates running for statewide office.

On Aug. 28, Chazy Dowaliby, the editor of The Patriot Ledger and The Enterprise, will serve as the moderator of two debates, one between the Democratic candidates running for treasurer and one between the Democratic candidates running for attorney general.

Candidates Tom Conroy, Barry Finegold and Deb Goldberg will participate in the treasurer forum, which will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. that day. The attorney general forum will follow from 7 to 8 p.m. and feature candidates Warren Tolman and Maura Healey.

The final forum of the series will take place on Sept. 2 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and feature Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor Lelund Cheung, Steve Kerrigan and Mike Lake. Holmes will serve as the moderator for this debate.

Voters can register to attend any of the last three forums by visiting www.stonehill.edu.